One of their flagship efforts is a lunar rover concept vehicle called Scarab, which may be the forebear to future generations of robots that will scour the moon for concentrations of hydrogen, water, and volatile chemicals that would be critical for supporting a lunar colony.

Much of its prospecting will go on deep inside lunar craters, where it can't rely on solar panels and cameras like most spacecraft. So Scarab has to be able to power itself and navigate in complete darkness at temperatures down to -385 degrees Fahrenheit. A radioisotope generator in its trunk provides heat and propulsion, and experimental laser-based sensors operate like visual sonar, reading distortions in their beams and allowing the massive articulated axles to react to the terrain.